Lambing in Jeffries Front Flat has now finished. It is certainly not a normal season at Bonavaree. Having had the total annual rainfall in only 8 months (200 mm since lambing started) has delayed a few things. The lightly set stocked ewes on this paddock, and many others, would usually be mobbed up into larger mobs … Read more
Here at Lincoln, we are currently getting ready to start grazing lucerne on the Home Block at Ashley Dene. These stands are about 3 years old now (sown Nov 2008) and we are looking at how different spring grazing management is going to impact on how the lucerne yield, persistence and animal liveweight production. The grazing … Read more
Dick Lucas has just informed me that the Ashley Dene Centenary book is now available for sale at the Lincoln University bookshop. The book describes the history and development of Ashley Dene since it was purchased by Lincoln Agricultural College in 1909. It contains commentaries from staff, students and farm managers about their time at the farm. Pastoral and livestock … Read more
This season has been incredibly wet at Bonavaree, the total average rainfall has been reached already, and there are still 4 months to go! The ewes and lambs have shown remarkable resilience to this wet, with very high lamb survival rates, even when the weather was at its worse. The ewes have lambed in very … Read more
Omaka Barley is a great crop to use at Bonavaree. Barley is used here because it really fits in well with the Avery’s system. The Omaka variety has been bred locally, and is very suitable for reliable dry matter production in a Marlborough dryland environment. It is a multipurpose crop at Bonavaree, in that it … Read more
This paddock of Torlesse is currently grazed by twin lambing ewes. Lucerne/Prairie Grass/Plantain, and Annual Ryegrass paddocks are also used for multiple bearing ewes to provide maximum nutrition in late pregnancy and lambing. Single bearing ewes are not grazed on lucerne, as this is better utilised for multiple lamb production. Fraser uses lucerne paddocks to … Read more
Doug and Fraser Avery have kindly agreed to let us visit their property on a regular basis to report on what is happening on Bonavaree throughout the farming calendar. Initially Doug has selected three paddocks for us to use in this blog, but flexibility is key to farming successfully in a dryland environment, and so … Read more
We’re working on making our blog a living breathing thing with live info from the field. The information will use on-the-ground knowledge of the farmers using the species successfully within their systems & who will outline their on-farm activity, successes and failures. Additional information and support is provided by the Lincoln University Dryland Pastures Research … Read more